P4: Two for the Price of One
by DAORON
Summary: Two people, one body. That is the result of suffering from dissociative identity disorder. But when you all of a sudden land inside the world of a game you have only heard of so far, two might be better than one in order to survive this crazy ordeal.
1. Chapter 1

I held a hand in front of my mouth, as a yawn escaped my lips. With a swipe of my finger, I turned a page of the book I was currently reading on my phone. I wasn't really paying that much attention to the words, though, mostly because I was still exhausted. I had gotten up very early in order to get my appointment with the doctor over as quickly as possible. My plan had partially worked, as I was the very first person the doctor saw today. My examination was already over, actually. I was just waiting for them to give me the results of my x-ray. Somehow it was taking them what felt like hours in order to get a few pictures printed out. Of course, it had only been twenty minutes, but it sure felt longer to me. And not just to me.

In the back of mind, I felt an annoyance building itself up and getting ever so slightly stronger with each passing minute. It made focusing on the words on my display even harder. I eventually just gave up and opened Candy Crush on my phone. By now I should have regained another life. Just seeing the loading screen caused the annoyance in my mind to fluctuate for the lack of a better term. When the game was done booting up, I discovered that I still had to wait for five more minutes. The annoyance was about to reach a new high both in the front and the back of my mind when thankfully my name was finally called by the woman at the front booth. Relieved, I put my phone into standby mode and made my way to the front desk.

"The doctor is waiting for you," the woman sitting behind the desk said and pointed me towards a door.

"Thanks," I nodded and walked into the room I was assigned to. This one turned out to be a room for taking x-rays, similar to the one I had been assigned to earlier. The difference was that this one was bigger, had more tables to lie down on, a few fancy machines and a display that right at this very moment showed an x-ray of my lungs. The doctor was standing right next to it and motioned me to come closer. I did as asked and when I arrived, he immediately spoke up.

"Well Miss, there is nothing to see here," he motioned over the picture. I wasn't an expert or anything, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary too. Just my bones, the hollowed out picture of my lungs and that was it.

"Whatever was wrong with you, it has nothing to do with your lungs. Or at least there is nothing inside of them."

"Well, that leaves only an allergic reaction," I contemplated to myself.

"We will send our findings to your house doctor in the coming days. For how long did you have that coughing?"

"Two months," I answered. "But I was only sick for one, at least according to the blood tests. They couldn't find any bacteria or a virus for this matter. My doctor said if this here doesn't show anything, I need to make an allergy test."

"Well, I can only support the idea," the local doctor stated. "Having coughs for an entire month is not normal. Anyway, good luck and have a nice day."

"Thank you. And you too," I replied, and we shook hands. I couldn't help but think what a waste of time this all had been, given on how long I waited for the results and in the end, we talked for like a minute at most. But at the same time, I was just glad that I could finally head out.

Outside it was a sunny day with a few clouds hanging around. The city had yet to fully come to life, as most people worked around this time of the day. Of course, there were still a lot of humans going about their day to day business, but what else can you expect in a city like this? Luckily for me, I was on vacation. I didn't have to head work or to school or anything similarly related. In fact, the only thing that I had to do was to head to a friend's house and get my costume ready.

As part of my vacation, me and my friend were going to a cosplay event in another city. We met a couple of years back, and she somehow managed to get me and myself into video games and by proxy dressing up as characters from video games. She made all of the costumes herself, if possible, which I found really impressive. Surprisingly me and myself actually had a lot of fun roleplaying as other characters.

However, it was way too early to go to my friend's house. She still had stuff to do today, but at the same time, I didn't want to go home. So I opted to go into a café where they had a TV up and running. I would be able to watch the news there, along with whatever else they showed on this channel. I had a pleasant surprise when visiting the place.

Just as I was about to take my order to a single table, I saw an acquaintance of mine sitting by her lonesome at the other end of the café. I immediately made my way to her and placed my tablet right in front of hers. She looked up surprised for a second, before smiling.

"Hey Jeanette," I greeted her, as I took my seat.

"Sorry sweetie," Jeanette replied. "Jeanette is not here at the moment."

"Oh," I blinked surprised. "Er… who is…?"

"It's your little, friendly pixie, Pix of course," Pix said with a giggle while waggling her finger in front of me.

"Ah, hey Pix," I waved my hand. "Long time no see. How are things in the fairy forest?"

"Same old, same old," she replied with a sigh. "The yearly Dance of the Fairies is still a few months off, and honestly there was not much to do over there. So I decided I would stick around Jeanette a little more and help her out. The fairy queen did assign me to her after all."

"Huh, I think that's the first time I hear you talk on you being bored at home. Usually, there is always something going on there."

"Not always, sweetie. Us pixies don't always dance or play pranks on people. We do have our own lives after all, just like humans," she explained.

"Figures. I wonder how it is, living inside a tree," I pondered.

"Nothing like they show on TV over here, I can tell you that. I am thinking about writing a petition to the queen that a delegation will be sent to educate the humans about the culture of us pixies. Of course, given that a lot of people in the court do not think highly of humans will probably result in my petition being dismissed."

I gave her an apologetic look. "Well, that sucks. I guess there isn't a way I can help?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," she shook her head. "I already tried it with Jeanette, three times in fact. They dismissed the first two, but the third request is still pending. I hope this one will actually get through. But knowing those snobs, I don't have high hopes."

I nodded, understanding. Pix would often complain about the higher-ups at her home. She really wanted humans and pixies to get closer together, "like in old times" to quote her here. I personally never met any other pixie, but according to Pix, there was quite a lot on earth at the current time, helping troubled souls.

"But enough about this," she said with a wave of her hand. "What about you, sweetheart? I haven't seen you during our last session together."

"Yeah…" I rubbed my arm uncomfortably. "Shade was in charge the past few days. I actually missed last time's session somehow. I only got along for the ride just a couple of days ago. And today I finally managed to get in charge again," I explained myself. "And of course, first thing I see when I check the freezer is that Shade has once again bought a shit ton of chocolate ice cream."

Pix laughed at my misery, and I could feel amusement in the back of my mind.

"If I didn't know better, I would say that Shade is actually a succubus. They love chocolate almost as much as sex."

I decided not to comment on that one and instead asked what I had missed from the last group therapy session since Shade once again didn't write anything down. Some of you might have noticed how casually I just accepted Jeanette's comment that she was a pixie, a fairy-like creature to be precise. That is because like me Jeanette is suffering from dissociative identity disorder or DID for short. For the uninitiated, it means the "two" of us are suffering from split personality.

I have one other personality. Her name is Shade. You will get to know her in the future. Poor Jeanette here? If nothing has changed since I had last seen her, she should have ten. Three adults, Jeanette included three teens, two children, Pix the pixie and a tigress. Yes, some people have animals as split personalities, even I didn't know that until I met Jeanette. And there are a lot more people out there who have more than just one alter.

Our conversation went on for quite a while. Pix told me about how she was trying to improve the human world (for the 100th time by now) by starting another campaign to save the environment. This time she wanted to stop the construction of a new road that would go straight through a nearby forest area. This one would definitely crash and burn since a lot of people had been asking for a new route for ages, and finally, the city would begin construction in a few months. It was meant as an alternative to avoid all the small communities around the big city.

I pointed this little tidbit out to Pix, but she wasn't deterred by it one bit. "There are so many better alternatives that you humans just aren't seeing. Or maybe you are, but consider it too costly."

"Wouldn't be the first time," I agreed. "Remember when they made the new public bathrooms for like five million and they got like a hundred back in the first year?"

We both laughed. That had been some fun headlines to read.

"By the way, since you're here, do you mind if you and Shade could do me a favor?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. "Depends?" I never say outright yes, unless I know what is asked of me and I actually agree with it.

"Oh, you see, there was this nice butterfly that visited our village some time ago, and he actually taught me the basics of fortune reading. Now, I am still a beginner in the field, but I wonder if you and Shade would allow me to use you as guinea pigs, so to speak."

My first thoughts were as to how random the sudden suggestion was. Pix was odd on an ordinary day, to say the least, but fortune telling? Well, the back of my mind appeared to be as curious as I was, so I decided to go along.

"Sure, why not?" I said with a shrug and Pix beamed at me.

"Thank you, sweeties," she addressed us both. "I'll start with you if that's alright?"

"Sure."

"Excellent! Please, give me your right hand."

I did as I was being asked and gave her my right hand. Personally, I was sure Jeanette or one of her alters must have seen a video or something on the internet, and that caused her Pix-alter to get the idea of doing fortune telling. In all honesty at the time, I just played along to have some fun.

Pix gently took my right hand with hers and started drawing seemingly random circles upon my palm. From the expression on her face, I could see that she was concentrating really hard. Pix also had the habit of sticking her tongue out ever so slightly whenever she was confronted with a hard task.

"This is not so easy doing it in a human body," I heard her mumble and smiled a bit in amusement. "The mana flow is completely different… but I think… aha!" she exclaimed and put her finger roughly on the top right corner of my palm.

"The thirteenth…" she began slowly. "It means that something in your life is coming to an end. But in return, something else will begin." Pix diagonally moved her finger, until it was roughly at the bottom left corner of my palm. "You will advance on a journey very soon. There will be many paths for you to choose…" She trailed off for just a second, before raising an eyebrow. "Curious. It seems like someone has already prepared a path for you. Whether you take it or not is up to you, but it seems someone wants you to follow this specific road."

She let go of my hand, but I held it in place for a little longer. "Wow," I managed to get out of my mouth eventually. I was fully expecting something else, like "you'll soon find love" or "now is the time to push forward," you know, stuff you read in a newspaper horoscope. "That's some food for thought."

"Yes, however, take it with a grain of salt." Pix smiled at me sheepishly. "Like I said, I am still new to this." She clapped her hands together. "Now then, if I could talk to Shade please?"

"Uh… give me a second. We haven't exactly figured this whole thing out just yet." Swapping the one who was currently in control of the body wasn't easy for Shade or me. It's not impossible, and a lot of people learn how to swap alters in a split second, but Shade and I had yet to come this far. Our general method was for the one who was in control to close her eyes and empty her mind. It's pretty similar to meditation, although I should mention it's not easy to just stop every thought process you have going on. A massage or some relaxing music usually helped out, but none of this was available. As such, it took us ten minutes to swap the one who was in control, because none of us could stop thinking about what we just heard. It was just so damn interesting.

Eventually, though, it happened. It's hard to put into words what I experience every time when Shade takes control, but the best way to describe it is it was like being in the backseat of a car. My eyes opened on their own all of a sudden, and I saw Pix waiting patiently for Shade to announce that she was there. My arms suddenly crossed, as well as my legs. My head leaned, my mouth moved on its own.

"What's up fairy? Got any fairy dust to snuff?" Shade asked casually.

"Fairy dust is not cocaine, Shade. And you shouldn't inhale either, sweetie," she told my alter, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Get a joke, fairy. So, ya need my left hand, right?"

Without waiting for an answer, Shade stretched out her or rather our left arm out and allowed Pix to take our left hand into hers. The self-proclaimed fairy repeated the process with the circle hovering over our hand until it stopped and landed in the top left corner.

"Thirteen again. Not surprising, given the circumstances. Once again something old will end, but something new will begin."

Shade let out a disappointed sigh, apparently expecting more. Pix trailed her finger down in a diagonal way until she was in the bottom right part of our left hand.

"Interesting. If I am reading this correctly, then you will soon meet a person that is very important to you. Not in a romantic fashion, but" she stopped briefly "more in a friendly way? Or in an educational one? The person will offer you guidance, but whether you take her offer or go blindly through the fog is up to you. Hmm… but why do I see signs of struggle ahead, no matter what you choose?"

Shade tilted our head. "Y'are not givin' me the bad news just 'cause-"

"Of course not!" Pix vehemently denied the accusation before Shade could fully express it. "It's just… I'm sorry. I must be misinterpreting something. Like I said, this is all new to me."

"Eh, it's fine. Sorry, I overreacted," Shade replied and took our hand back. Pix had a worried expression on her face, and my alter reacted to that.

"Hey, this ain't botherin' ya or anything, does it?" my alter asked. "Just forget it. Ya said yourself ya ain't the best at this shtick yet."

"You're right," Pix nodded. "I shouldn't let this bother me. To be honest, this was my first reading I didn't conduct on Jeanette. And so far, my readings haven't been that accurate, if I am honest."

"No biggie. Everyone starts small." My alter took a look at a clock hanging from a wall. "Anyway, we gotta go. We're going on a trip tomorrow with a friend, and we still got stuff to do, before we go home and pack."

"Oh! I guess that is the journey I foresaw in your future." Pix had a winning smile on her face. Shade let out a good-hearted laugh and agreed.

"Looks like yer practice is already workin' out. Keep it up!" She gave Pix a thumbs up, before leaving the café. Pix returned the thumbs up and held it high until we were out of sight.

* * *

We took the bus in order to get to our friend's house. She lived in a tiny community that was only a mile or so away from the outskirts of the city. Almost all of the homes here were two stories tall, and the house of my friend was no exception.

The only difference was that the façade had recently gotten a fresh paint job and as such was "whiter" than any of the other buildings in the area. Me and Shade had switched on the bus ride by the way. Being driven from point A to point B was always pretty relaxing in our opinion, as such it made it easier for me to retake control.

I planned on using the doorbell for all intense and purposes, but just by getting close to the building I could already hear the obnoxiously loud music coming from the upper level. I almost face-palmed, when I saw that the door was ever so slightly open. This had to be the 100th time that the girl forgot to close her door. I could feel Shade being amused by that little fact.

Seeing as the girl wouldn't hear the doorbell over the loud music, I just entered and went straight to her room. The inside of her room was like I remembered it being: a total mess. My friend liked to call it organized chaos, but I knew what organized chaos looked like, and this wasn't it. Fabrics just randomly lying around, scissors being stuck inside the wall, mannequins wearing half-finished costumes and so on. As for my friend herself, she was currently posing in front of her mirror, wearing the female high school uniform of Gekkoukan High, a fictional school from a video game and holding a naginata in both hands. She also had dyed her hair and done tied it up into a ponytail.

You see, the two of us would be going to a cosplaying event the following day. Today I would be trying on my own outfit and let my friend dye my hair silver. While she was going as the female protagonist from Persona 3, a game I recently started playing, I would be going as Labrys from Persona 4 Arena. I should add that I would be going in her human form because my friend couldn't make the extra accessories in time to make me somewhat appear like a robot.

My costume also came with a little twist. Shade, of course, didn't want to be left out of the fun, not after last year, as such she would be playing her own part as Shadow Labrys. I was told shadow versions of a person are basically repressed emotions made manifest. I have yet even to touch Persona 4, so I am not sure I understand entirely. But basically, when Shade was out, she would put on a pair of yellow colored contacts and act all mean to everyone.

I cringed a little as an exceptionally deep bass almost shattered my eardrums. I decided that now was the best time to make my friend aware that I was inside her house and I'm pretty sure I heard Shade grumbling something in the back of my mind. Not entirely impossible, but usually one of us needs to be out in order to listen to the other.

I think a lot about back then when I first tried on that uniform. I didn't stay for too long there since I had a lot of packing to do. Later I would regret not being with her until the evening or maybe even stayed overnight. But how should I know that it would take so long until I finally met her again?

* * *

Thick white fog covered the entire area, scarcely revealing anything of the landscape. If one looked closer, they maybe would have been able to make out some red tiles or mysterious geometrical figures here and there, but who's to say what they saw was even there? Navigation in this place was impossible for a normal human being, yet somehow this girl was doing a reasonably good job, despite the limited visibility.

At first, Izanami thought that it was just a fluke. She noticed an intruder entering her sacred realm inside the world of the human heart. But that was more than unlikely. For starters, no normal human could enter her domain. Plus of the few people who were even aware of the world of the human heart, only one would be able to find the goddesses' personal realm. Everyone else would just get lost in the fog for eternity.

Yet, this wasn't the human the goddess was thinking of. No, this one was someone completely different, someone, that the goddess had never even met in her entire life. Naturally, she needed to find out how this human managed to get into her realm in the first place, let alone so deep. The easiest way to do that was naturally talking to her. There was the slight downside that humans were easily scared of imposing figures like herself. However, it looked like that problem had already solved itself.

As the goddess was watching the human girl, she could see the fog already taking effect on her. The girl was confused, lost, more stumbling around the area, than she was walking. She had her body hunched over. At first, Izanami believed this to be the case because the girl was feeling sick. But upon closer inspection, she saw that the girl was trying to make out the tiles on the ground and was following them. It certainly would explain why the girl had yet to fall into the abyss.

Not that Izanami could allow the girl to die just yet, after all, some answers were needed. The girl didn't even notice that she had been teleported directly into Izanami's "chamber," so to speak. For her, it appeared like she had just followed the path and was continuing to do so. The goddess was about to address the girl, but stopped herself from speaking up, when the girl collapsed onto her knees. From the looks of things, the fog had a more significant effect on the girl than even Izanami anticipated.

The goddess took on her human shape and slowly and silently walked up to the girl. Said girl was wearing a Yasogami High uniform, a human school Izanami was familiar with. The girl had long silver hair, tied into a ponytail, red eyes and pale skin. She could have easily come through as a relative of sorts of Izanami. The thought actually amused the goddess.

"This is a surprise," the goddess spoke, getting the attention of the girl. Her head snapped upwards, and she squinted her eyes, clearly trying to make out the goddess, but failed to do so. "I wasn't expecting any guests," Izanami continued, dropping the slightest hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Uh…" The goddess could see that the girl was too tired to give her a straight answer. It looked like the human had problems even sitting on her knees. With the fog clouding the human's mind, she noticed too late that the goddess had sat down on her knees right next to the said human. Izanami gently pushed the girl's body downwards, until she was lying with the back of her head on the goddesses' lap. The girl almost automatically stretched her legs out in order to get more comfortable.

"You look tired. However, I would appreciate it if you stayed with me a little longer." Izanami slowly stroked the girl's hair with her fingers, her magic already working on easing the girl's mind. Not her usual style of doing things, but then again, this was hardly a typical situation.

"Now tell me, who are you?" Izanami asked in a kind tone.

"… Labrys… I think…" the girl eventually answered.

"You think?" Izanami repeated, interested. Due to her magic, the girl shouldn't have any choice but to speak the honest truth. Of course, it was an entire matter entirely if the girl didn't remember "the truth."

"Yes…" Labrys spoke.

"I see. Tell me Labrys, how did you enter my realm?"

"I don't know…" Labrys' voice sounded slightly slurred, but at the same time, the girl was sure of herself.

"Hmm, then what have you been doing before you found yourself here?"

"I was… going to an event. With a friend. We were cosplaying as some characters… we got there… we met this woman…"

"A woman. Was there anything special about her?" the goddess inquired.

"…I don't remember. I… I barely remember anything," Labrys sounded a little bit distressed.

"I see. Then tell me, what do you remember," Izanami asked patiently.

"I remember… a huge crowd… a lot of people… we stayed outside for… half an hour. Inside were even more people. A lot were… dressed up as fictional characters. Like my friend and me. We… we talked to-"

Labrys was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. Izanami frowned and noticed that after the girl calmed down, she was breathing rather heavily.

"It… it hurts…" the girl whimpered, slowly curling up into a ball.

"Shh, shh, it's okay." The goddess knew the mortal wouldn't last for much longer inside her realm. There were a lot more answers she wanted to have answered but from the looks of things she needed to be patient and take the girl to the human world with her. It was inconvenient, especially given that she was planning on starting her experiment soon.

However, before she could adequately start her experiment, she needed to get some more answers out of the girl. The goddess was ready to return the girl to the human realm for the time being when she noticed something dropping out of the girl's pocket: a wallet. Figuring the girl could survive a couple of more seconds, Izanami took the purse and opened it. At first, she didn't find anything of note, some European currency, various plastic cards the humans were so fond of, nothing unusual. That is until a photo dropped out of the pocket and glided to the ground. The goddess picked it up and almost immediately smiled upon what she saw there.

"Hmm, I see, I see. You are more interesting than I initially thought… "Labrys."


	2. Chapter 2

Life had its way of throwing curveballs in one's direction, subsequently forcing the person in question to adapt to the new situation. A goddess such as Izanami was no exception to that rule. Gods and goddesses weren't overpowering, all-knowing beings. Although some of them very well believed this to be the case. Izanami couldn't predict or influence everything that was happening around her. She couldn't just snap her fingers and create a, in her opinion, perfect world. If that were the case, she would have done so a long time ago.

No, as the humans put it, Izanami had to roll with the punches that were coming her way, just like she had to deal with the unexpected appearance of a certain girl inside her domain. All in all, Izanami thought she had very well adapted to the sudden situational shift. In fact, she would even go as far as saying that in the long term she had improved her situation.

The goddess, currently in disguised as a silver-haired human with pale skin and red eyes, was inside the little kitchen of her apartment, preparing breakfast for two. While for her, food and other human necessities were nothing more than simple pleasures to Izanami, her newfound guest (or guests) would require a proper breakfast.

Speaking of the guest(s), Izanami could hear the sound of footsteps echoing through her rather small apartment. Her home was small in comparison to other homes. If you went the mile and took three big steps, then you could easily find yourself having crossed the entire apartment, with the exception of the closet and the bathroom.

Standing in the doorway to the kitchen was the silver-haired girl Izanami encountered just yesterday inside the world of the human heart. Unlike then, she wasn't wearing her high school uniform anymore. She now wore some simple white pajamas with black stripes going downwards. They looked like reversed prison clothes, now that Izanami thought about it. The girl had her hair close, causing it to fall all over her body, even partially covering one of her eyes. Said girl let out a hearty yawn, whilst rubbing her exposed eye.

"Morning Nami…" the girl greeted in English, sounding more like a zombie than a human.

"Good morning, cousin," Izanami greeted back, in Japanese. The goddess watched in amusement, as her "cousin" blinked in confusion before realization dawned upon her.

"Oh yeah… right… Forgot I am in Japan, now," the younger girl replied, this time speaking Japanese with a slight English accent.

"I'm surprised you're up already," Izanami replied. "You arrived so late last night, I was expecting you to sleep until lunch hour," the goddess chuckled. "And from the looks of things, you really could use some more sleep."

"I tried…" the younger one replied. "But I just can't. I'm just too excited, you know? I always wanted to visit Japan for the holidays and now here I am going even one step further spending an entire school year here."

Izanami once again chuckled. "I think you're the first teenager I have ever heard saying that they're excited about school, Labrys," the goddess smiled good naturally. "I'm pretty sure your demeanor will change, once school properly starts next week."

Labrys slumped down right next to the kitchen table, placing her head on her arms. "Whatever, cuz," the high schooler's voice was muffled by her arms.

"Are you sure you don't want to lay down some more?" Izanami asked. When she didn't receive an answer immediately, she thought that Labrys had fallen asleep on the table. However, it just turned out that the girl was slowly turning head around so that she could have a direct look at the older woman.

"Nah, I'll get there. What's for breakfast?"

"Well, nothing traditionally Japanese I'm afraid," Izanami said good naturally, opening one of the cupboards. "In fact, there's still some shopping I have left to do. I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Labrys replied, before letting out another yawn. "They just all of a sudden changed the flight plan, and then things got hectic pretty quickly."

"No need to apologize. It just means I get to spend more time with my favorite cousin!" Izanami grinned while placing the kitchenware on the table.

"Who? Do you mean Shade or me?" Labrys grinned. That had been an ongoing joke with her, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Whenever someone referred to her in some way, without explicitly meaning her, she would bring up her other self.

"The third one, of course," Izanami answered quickly, knowing very well that Labrys had only one "other" as they were called. The goddess received a light punch in response to her jab, but nothing more.

The two cousins engaged in small talk during breakfast, with Labrys speaking about her high school life so far and Izanami speaking about her workplace, which was the local gas station of course. The goddess had spent more than enough time among humans to hold a regular conversation. Part of her research naturally included knowing how humans thought. This had made it easier for the goddess to manipulate the girl's mind, before bringing her to the apartment in the real world.

Of course, Izanami and Labrys weren't related in any way shape or form. The fact that both had silver hair was purely coincidental. After having interrogated the girl, some more Izanami had contemplated what to do with the intruder. She had stumbled across something intriguing inside the mind of Labrys during the interrogation, which ultimately led to the decision to implement the girl into her research project.

However, this had to be done subtly. The girl's mind was already broken, given the disorder, she was suffering from. Her time in the TV-World hadn't done the girl's mind or body for that matter any favors. She would need some adjustment time, not to mention a place to stay and some other things. Being the goddess that she was, Izanami could provide with all of those things. So, for the time being, she was Nami Kiri, older cousin to Labrys Dalton, a high school student coming from abroad. It wasn't the most elaborated background the goddess could have thought of, but it was enough for the time being.

As the morning went on, Izanami asked her guest how she came to learn Japanese, a subject the goddess was genuinely curious about.

"Oh, that?" Labrys asked between bites of her toast. "Well, originally I was going to learn French. You see, we had the choice between German and French as a secondary language at our school. You had to choose either one of them. You couldn't bail out. However, two months before we had to submit our choice, they hired a new teacher. Mr. Hondo came from Japan and was originally hired as a PE teacher. However, he was also certified as a Japanese teacher offered some lessons if enough people were interested."

Labrys laughed at the memory.

"We barely managed to get the numbers together and the first year he was teaching us without any books."

"Interesting," Izanami commented.

"Uh huh. By the end of the year came the annual school festival and Mr. Hondo decided we should build up a stand to inform people about Japanese culture. We even made some ramen with a recipe from the internet. All in all, it was a success and ever since then our school teaches Japanese as a third language option."

"That's quite the story," the goddess said while sipping on her coffee. "And it's lucky for us, too. That way I don't have to work as an interpreter for you." Izanami did take the liberty of increasing Labrys' vocabulary, just in case.

"So, how come you work at a gas station now?" Labrys asked.

"No particular reason," the goddess shrugged. "They needed help and I needed a job. I have been working there, ever since I came to Inaba. The hours aren't so bad, once you get used to it. Plus, I get to meet a lot of townsfolk every day that way." Truth to be told, Izanami had simply needed a job where she could meet people every day and strike up conversations. The gas station just happened to be there. There had been other options, but no opportunities.

The day went on. Breakfast was soon finished and Izanami went ahead and did the dishes quickly. Labrys in the meantime went ahead and prepared herself for going out. She and her cousin had some things to do in town, like going to the local high school for example. Grocery shopping was also on the to-do list, plus some clothes shopping for Labrys. In her hastiness of packing her things when the flight plan change was announced, she completely forgot to pack some regular clothes. She only had her high school uniform to change into, which the school had sent to her cousin the month prior.

Luckily said cousin was generous enough to spare some clothes until the shopping was done. Labrys now wore a simple white shirt with a grey vest over it and ht blue jeans. The girl also tied her hair back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't get in the way anymore.

The girl watched herself in the mirror for a couple of seconds, wondering if she should ask Nami for a vest or a pullover with a different color on it. Figuring that would be unnecessary, Labrys waved off the motion and proceeded to put her discarded pajamas away into her cousin's closet.

Nami's apartment didn't contain a guest bedroom. Labrys had slept in the living room on a spare futon the other night. Her high school uniform hung among Nami's clothes in the closet, which was located in Nami's room. The room didn't have much in it. A bed, a wardrobe with a mirror attached, a nightstand and an alarm clock on the said nightstand. The living room wasn't much better. Couch, TV, table, the futon and a potted plant in the corner of the room. Labrys didn't remember Nami being so minimalistic. Even the bathroom and the kitchen had more personality, mostly because they were filled with more stuff.

She made a mental note to ask her cousin why she didn't put up some decorations inside her home. The entire place felt almost barren.

When Labrys stepped out of Nami's room, she found her cousin already waiting for her at the front door. Nami had decided to wear a grey wool pullover and some black trousers. In one hand the older cousin was already holding the keys to the apartment, playing with them a little.

"Ready?" Izanami asked.

"Yup," Labrys nodded.

"Alright. We stop by your new school first and then go to Junes. Should make things easier."

"Junes?" Labrys repeated, tilting her head. "What's that?"

"It's a megastore that recently came to town," Izanami informed her cousin, as both stepped outside. "They finished building the place six months ago or so. It has made things easier for people in town. Everything in one place, cheaper products and a bigger selection of goods."

"Ah," Labrys nodded, understanding.

"I hope you don't mind going on foot for a little," the goddess continued as they walked down the staircase and out of the apartment complex. "Inaba is pretty small, compared to back home. So I never felt the need to buy one."

"Really? You have no car?" the younger cousin asked.

Izanami shrugged. "I usually use my bike to get to work or the bus if the weather is bad. I usually don't buy too much either and the few times I do, I just call a cab."

"Huh. Okay. But wouldn't a car be useful nonetheless? I mean, what if you want to go somewhere else for holiday or something?"

"Trains, bus, there's plenty to chose from. A car would be unnecessarily expensive and stand around ninety percent of the time. If I ever need one, I'll get myself one."

* * *

The weather in Inaba wasn't too bad all things considered. It wasn't warm, but not cold either. It was cloudy, but there was no rain. As the silver-haired duo made their way towards the high school, Labrys mentally noted with interest that Inaba didn't look too different from any other country town back at home. The only immediate notable thing was the roofs and some Japanese decorations inside the gardens.

Labrys also recognized many car brands that were driving on the street. At least half of them weren't from Japanese companies, which surprised her slightly. Something else that gained her attention was the amount of none-Japanese people they happened to come across the street. When Labrys pointed that out, Izanami was quick to explain.

"The Amagi Inn is a famous tourist spot. It's not unusual to see people from other countries every now and then, especially during tourist season. We even had some school classes from overseas here every now and again."

"Why's an Inn so famous?" Labrys asked confused.

"They have hot springs. It also is a traditional run inn. People want to know what that is like. Usually, they come here to escape the big city or at least that is the impression I got from talking to a few. There are some nice places where you can take a walk and enjoy nature."

"Huh, didn't take this place for a tourist town. It looks kind of bland."

Izanami had to laugh at this. "Don't tell this one of the elderly people here or they might get mad. Many people here are proud of the town, even if it is pretty bland."

"That so? Say, why did you move here in the first place? Didn't you live in Tokyo before?"

"Too crowded," came the quick answer causing Labrys to raise an eyebrow.

"I couldn't stand it anymore. So many people at once, trains filled to the brim with humans, like sardines in a can. Not to mention my last boss was a douche."

"Really? Where did you work before?"

Izanami quickly made up some story about working at a grocery store and not getting along with the boss. Labrys in return told her about that one math teacher that no one in her class could stand and the conversation went on from there.

Izanami led her cousin to Samegawa Flood Plain, a river with a walkway right next to it. It was the final stretch before the duo would arrive in Yasogami High, the school Labrys would attend the following year. Of course, Izanami had already dealt with the school officials beforehand. Being a goddess came with a lot of perks, such as mind manipulating a lot of people in a short timespan. The teachers had been "informed" of everything necessary. The actual paperwork would come later.

This was something Izanami hated about modern society. All of those papers and forms that one had to have. In the past, it was way easier to blend into human society. You were simply a wanderer who had come from a faraway land. There, easy. Nowadays? Not so much. It was an annoyance that Izanami had learned to deal with over time.

When they arrived at the school, the duo found the gates open and even a few cars parked inside. This was no surprise as the teachers had to prepare for the upcoming school year. If Labrys had to describe the building in one word, it would be: rusty. The school was only about three stories high and had a separate gym hall. The building emanated a comforting aura, similar to when one visited one's grandparents. At least that was the feeling Labrys got from watching at it from the outside.

The inside wasn't all that impressive. Dark wooden floors, shoe lockers at the front, as those were common in Japanese schools and a blackboard hanging in the middle of just one long hallway. That was all there was to it. It was only one long hallway with rooms on each side and staircases leading upwards. Even the primary school Labrys went to had a more complex structure design and could probably house more students, too.

"What's wrong?" Izanami asked, noticing Labrys' disappointed gaze.

"Nothing," the silver-haired girl stroke her ponytail. "It's just so… small." The girl made a gesture with her hands. "Like really small."

Izanami resisted the urge to laugh. "Welcome to Inaba, cousin. Over here everything is small."

As it just so happened, a teacher exited one of the rooms and noticed the pair standing inside the hallway. Said teacher led them to the principal's office. The principal himself looked like he should have retired ages ago. He was slightly hefty, had an impressive white beard and spoke slowly. He sounded like he had trouble breathing, making Labrys feeling somewhat concerned.

Labrys and Izanami had to sign some documents before Labrys was handed her student card.

"Well then, Labrys. I hope you will have a fun year here at our school. It is the first time we've had someone from abroad coming to our school."

"Thank you, principal," Labrys replied accidentally in English, noticing her mistake too late. She was quick to apologize and repeat the sentence in Japanese.

"Maybe you can help some of our students with their English classes," the principal said good-naturedly. "I am sure you will make yourself a lot of friends that way."

"I'll see what I can do," Labrys replied with a laugh. "Um, by the way, you have been informed about my… condition?" she asked in a more meager tone.

The principal nodded slowly. "Yes, we have received information regarding your personality disorder," the principal spoke grimly. The man, of course, wasn't aware that it had been Izanami who had been feeding them the information into their minds. The goddess had a busy night behind her.

"The teachers have been informed, as well. I must admit this will be a first for all of us, but I am confident that everyone in this school will do their best to make you feel welcome."

"Thank you, principal," Labrys nodded politely.

"Say, I hope I am not intruding or anything, but is it possible to speak with the other you right now?" the principal asked.

Izanami raised a curious eyebrow, looking over to the girl. She hadn't been paying attention, but now that the man brought it up, the other part of her heart had yet to make her presence known. Labrys frowned a little, before shaking her head.

"Sorry. Right now, Shade is not here."

"Not here?" the old man repeated confused. Labrys took on a relaxed posture and began explaining.

"You see, split personality is different for everyone. Some people are able to change who is in control with their others at will. Other people will have a trigger, like a loud noise, which causes the switch. And then there are the cases where people can't control it at all and it just happens."

Labrys made a small pause, letting the information sink in.

"As for us, it is different every day. You see, right now Shade is in a sense asleep. She doesn't notice anything that's going on around us and she won't remember anything up until the point where she wakes up."

The principal stroked his beard. He appeared to be genuinely interested in the topic.

"When she is awake, I can sort of feel her in the back of my mind. Like a wasp that's buzzing around at the back of your head. We can even talk to each other during these times."

"Fascinating," the man commented. "Your condition is more complex than I first imagined."

Labrys smiled wryly. "With all due respect principal, you haven't even heard the half of it. Anyway, when I feel Shade in the back of my head, it is possible for us to switch positions. However, there are times when the switching just happens on its own. Usually, this happens at night, when we're asleep. But when you see me spacing out in the middle of the staircase or something, it's usually a safe bet that the other one has taken over and is trying to orient herself."

Izanami mentally remarked that the girl had to give this explanation fairly often, judging by how seamlessly she rattled down the information. For the principal no doubt this was a lot to take in, even with the information the goddess provided him with. She herself wasn't very well versed in the topic of split personality, but her interest had been peaked.

"I see," the principal sounded unsure. "This is a lot to take in. Perhaps it would be best to call the teachers together and let you give everyone a rundown of your condition. If it isn't too much asked, of course," the man hastily added.

Labrys smiled. "Don't worry, sir. It wouldn't be the first time. Let's just hope Shade won't be the one awake then. She doesn't like holding presentations." Labrys grinned, causing the principal to smile.

"I see, I see. Well then, I wish you a successful school year. And I hope you will like your stay in Inaba."

"Um, before we get out, I think there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh? Go ahead," the principal nodded encouragingly.

"You see, Shade and I have an agreement of sorts. We allow the other one to have full control over our body for one day each, meaning when the day is over we switch controls. Today would have been a day when Shade was supposed to be in control. I'll have to make it up for her another day."

"Mhm," the old man nodded. "I see. So we will be seeing both of you regularly."

"Yes. I just thought I should tell you, so it doesn't come to any confusion. God knows we've had enough of that in pre-school." Labrys mumbled the last part but was just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Izanami let out a chuckle. "I have to hear that story sometime," she commented, stepping forward. "If that's everything principal, we will be on our way."

"Of course. I wouldn't want to keep you here any longer than necessary. Have a nice day, you two."

* * *

Later, when both silver-haired cousins were walking past the river again, Labrys stretched her arms, taking in a deep breath. "Oh man, how can he breathe in that office of his?"

Izanami nodded in agreement. "He should open a window every now and again."

"So, Junes was next?"

Izanami nodded. "We'll have to go for a bit, but it lays in the direction of my apartment. Speaking of Junes, I think they're looking for part-timers right now. Aren't you interested in-?"

Izanami stopped herself when she saw that Labrys had suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" the goddess asked, only now noticing the look of confusion on her face. The girl with the ponytail looked left and right, her eyes narrowing with each passing second. She looked down on herself and inspected the clothes she wore.

"These ain't mine…" Labrys stated in confusion.

"Labrys? Is everything okay?" the goddess asked.

Labrys head immediately snapped upwards, glaring at Izanami for just a split second, before her expression softened.

"Oh, it's you. Hey cuz," Labrys waved with her hand. "Long time no see. How much did I miss?"

"Uh…" Izanami blinked in genuine confusion, causing Labrys to frown once again. The girl put her hands on her hips and leaned a little forward.

"It's Shade here. Ya know? The other one?" she said in a deadpan voice. Immediately Izanami understood what was going on. An involuntary switch happened between Labrys and Shade. Shade was now in full control of their shared body and Labrys had taken a backseat.

"Ah, sorry about that Shade. It's just been so long since I've last seen you two switch without warning." Izanami faked an embarrassed laugh.

"Ah, no biggie," Shade waved off. "I get it. It's weird for us, too, ya know? Never got used to that. Anyway, what did I miss? Is this your hometown or somethin'?"

"Can't Labrys explain it to you?" Izanami asked.

"She ain't here anymore. Fell asleep. It's a bother."

The goddess nodded, understanding. She can only imagine how disorientating it must be to wake up at some random place, without any idea how one got here or where they were heading in the first place. She then proceeded to tell Shade what happened so far during the day, all the while the two continued their way to Junes.


End file.
